Saratoga News
Gardening
The bigleaf maple, a West Coast native, is known for its large, lobed leaves and for the height, width and rapid growth of the tree itself. Its yellowish-green flower tassels mature into winged seedpods.
April showers, ah, bring, ah, May, ah, flowers ... ah-choo!
By Tony Tomeo
April showers bring May flowers--as well as mud, erosion, snails, slugs, plant diseases, instability of certain trees and, of course, allergies. Erosion can be repaired, and destabilized trees should stabilize as the muddy soil eventually dries and drains somewhat. Snails and slugs can be picked (removed) from the garden during more pleasant weather. Plant diseases likewise will be easier to remedy when the rain stops, if it ever does. However, allergies will continue to get worse.
Many plants that cause the worst allergies are not within landscapes, but are weeds that grow in unrefined areas that are not maintained, and generally not irrigated. Allergies are worse after rainy winters because these weeds, which rely on rain for water, are more vigorous and bloom more abundantly. Of course, the many plants that get watered in the garden also bloom and produce allergy-causing pollen. Allergies get worse this time of year because blooms increase as weather gets warmer.
The flowers of many of the plants that cause allergies, whether in the garden or not, are typically not as obvious as the showier flowers that are popular in gardens. The showier flowers are designed to attract pollinators, such as insects or birds, to disperse their pollen. Most of the flowers that cause allergies instead produce very fine pollen that is dispersed by wind, which blows regardless of the appearance of the flowers. This fine, airborne pollen is precisely what people are allergic to.
The few showier flowers that happen to cause allergies are problematic primarily in close proximity. Although they produce irritating pollen, it is not very fine and therefore not dispersed very far by wind. For example, many people sneeze in response to smelling the very fragrant lilac or narcissus flowers. However, these same flowers seem harmless at a distance.
Unfortunately, because the fine pollen most people are allergic to is airborne and transmitted over significant distances, simply eliminating problematic flowers from the garden cannot control it completely. Removing (or never planting) the few flowers that produce the heavier pollen that causes the worst symptoms up close certainly helps to limit allergies. However, the finer pollen that causes the more persistent symptoms probably comes from all over the neighborhood.
Not everyone allergic to pollen is allergic to the same kind. There are many plants that produce pollen that most people with allergies have problems with. Some people, however, are allergic to plants that very few people are allergic to. This is why different people experience allergies at different times of year, depending upon what is blooming.
"Hayfever" is the most common allergy, which happens to be associated with grass pollen. Many people are also allergic to pollen of conifers, which incidentally bloom more variably in regard to abundance and timing.
As a reminder, Iris Fantasy and Spring in Guadalupe Gardens will both be this weekend. Iris Fantasy, the 47th annual spring show of the Clara B. Rees Iris Society, will be at Westgate Mall in San Jose from noon to 7 p.m. on April 22, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 23. More information is available from Mary Lou Wyman at 408.725.8626 or Carolyn Craft at 408.266.0945 or theladygardens@aol.com. The 10th annual spring in Guadalupe Gardens will be in Guadalupe River Park and Gardens in San Jose from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 22. More information can be found at www.grpg.org.
Tree of the Week:
bigleaf maple
The native bigleaf maple, Acer macrophyllum, is actually too happy for its own good in the Santa Clara Valley. It rapidly grows taller and broader than 50 feet, which is too large for many urban gardens. The aggressive roots are often shallow. However, it is a remarkably handsome tree with a bold presence.
The elegantly lobed leaves are wider than 6 inches, and turn yellow and then brown in autumn before curling and falling. The small tassels of yellowish green flowers that bloom about now produce copious pairs of brown winged seeds known (in different parts of the country) as helicopters, whirligigs or pollynoses. Leaf margins sometimes dry and turn papery brown during the warmest summers.
Horticulturist Tony Tomeo can be contacted at 408.358.2574 or at LGHORTICULTURE@aol.com.
